The lectionary continues the story of David from last week - where we read about David’s anointing to be the next king over Israel. This week we read about another famous David story - the encounter between him and the Philistine Goliath. Saul is still king over Israel at this time, and overseeing this stalemate - Goliath, the Philistine’s champion, who was large and scary and armored to the max, demanded Israel to send their best warrior to fight him. Every day for 40 days he challenged the Israelites to a battle of champions...until one day, David overheard him and accepted. This is where the story picks up.

Instead of hearing the text and then listening to a sermon preached on it, we’re going to experience the passage a bit differently together. We’ll hear the passage read a couple times - first to familiarize ourselves with what happens in the story and to take note of any particular part that draws our attention. The second, we’ll read more slowly, and I’ll pause every so often to ask a question for you to reflect personally on that may help you engage with this text with where you are in your life right now.

I invite you to get into a comfortable position, note the position of your body, feel the pew carrying your weight, notice the pattern of your breathing, you may wish to have your hands resting on your legs with your palms up in a position of openness...you may wish to have your eyes open with a soft focus or your eyes closed...let’s take a few moments to breathe to prepare our hearts for the hearing of these words from 1 Samuel……. I invite you hear the story and take note of any particular part of the passage - a word or phrase or concept - that draws your attention.

1 Samuel 17:32-49 (The Message)

32 “Master,” said David, “don’t give up hope. I’m ready to go and fight this Philistine.”33 Saul answered David, “You can’t go and fight this Philistine. You’re too young and inexperienced—and he’s been at this fighting business since before you were born.”34-37 David said, “I’ve been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I’d go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I’d grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I’ll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.”Saul said, “Go. And God help you!”38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.David told Saul, “I can’t even move with all this stuff on me. I’m not used to this.” And he took it all off.40 Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.43 The Philistine ridiculed David. “Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?” And he cursed him by his gods.44 “Come on,” said the Philistine. “I’ll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I’ll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice.”45-47 David answered, “You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.Ignatian Exercise

We’ll hear the passage read again more slowly; pausing from time to time for opportunities for deeper reflection….and closing with prayer together.

32 “Master,” said David, “don’t give up hope. I’m ready to go and fight this Philistine.”33 Saul answered David, “You can’t go and fight this Philistine. You’re too young and inexperienced—and he’s been at this fighting business since before you were born.”Imagine yourself in the Israelite war camp, the sounds of armor and metal, the buzz of conversation, the movement of the soldiers, the sights and the smells - what emotions do you sense around you as you observe the scene? What emotions are you feeling as you watch this conversation between David and Saul?[silence]34-37 David said, “I’ve been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I’d go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I’d grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I’ll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.”Saul said, “Go. And God help you!”What do you resonate with in David’s response to Saul? His experience? Youthful exuberance? His confidence in God? In himself? Where have you felt similarly in your life? What comes to mind as you recall that moment? [silence]38-39 Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge.David told Saul, “I can’t even move with all this stuff on me. I’m not used to this.” And he took it all off.40 Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.What are you feeling as David takes off the armor and approaches Goliath unprotected? What do you imagine is going on with the Israelites at this moment? With the Philistines? What do you see on their faces? Hear them say?41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.43 The Philistine ridiculed David. “Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?” And he cursed him by his gods.44 “Come on,” said the Philistine. “I’ll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I’ll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice.”45-47 David answered, “You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”As this exchange happens, What is happening around you? What do pay attention to more; Goliath’s taunts or David’s challenge? What stirs within you as you watch the conversation unfold? What do you imagine David might be feeling? 48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.What do you imagine is the reaction to this encounter? What does this say to you about God’s presence with David? With you? What giants are you facing right now in your life? Where does this give you confidence to face your own battles? It feels like madness to stand before the giantwith nothing but faith and a few small stones.It seems insane to believe that anything but brute forcecan match the challenge of the powerful.

But, in the stillness a different voice whispers,speaking of crosses and empty tombs,of justice and God’s concern for the weak;In the stillness fear and insecurity can be heardin the bellowing of the bullies;And in the stillness the temptation in each of usto cling to our power at all costsbecomes clear and transparent.

And so we find ourselves in prayer, Jesus,that the gentle persuasion of your lovemay change how we do power in our world;that the strong and wealthy may find lifein sharing and empowering;and that we each, in our own small way, may rememberthat the giants we wrestle with only fallwhen we allow your authority to lead us,and your justice to teach us how to live.Amen.As we come out of the silence and the stillness with our reflections and our prayers -- what did you notice about the passage or about your own experience with reading the text in this way that you’d like to share with others here?[Get Feedback]Reading the text in this way engages ourselves with the story in a different way that allows us to experience new insights, different emotions - and perhaps make the story more concretely our own as we recognize more acutely the fear and insecurities of the characters and our own resonance with their emotions. Perhaps we connected with Saul’s reluctance and hesitation and saw the places where we aren’t ready to cede control or trust in what God might be doing. Perhaps we were able to identify the places where we need the confidence in God that David has as we face our own giants. In all these things, however, we know our God calls us forward - that God is present in our doubts and darkness, in our battles and struggles, and God continually invites us to place our trust in God’s promises of life and peace - that God can do the seemingly impossible, that God uses the weak to confound the strong, that God brings light to our darkness and songs to our soul. In all things, God is with us. As we stand to sing our next hymn, let what you heard and experienced in our time of reflection be a prayer, praising God for the strength to face giants, for love overcoming fear, for power made perfect in weakness. Let us stand and sing together our next hymn My Life Flows On - number 2212 in the black hymnals.

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Pastor Melissa Yosua-Davis has been serving the community of Chebeague and its church since July 2015. She currently lives on the island with her husband and two year old son, along with their yellow lab. Read here recent sermon excerpts, thoughts on life and faith, and current announcements for the church community. She also blogs at Going on to Perfection.